Tray c. 1941

This watercolour tray, by Charles Henning, feels like a dream of something useful, transformed by careful attention. I can imagine Henning hunched over it, his brush dancing across the surface, layering thin washes of color. There’s something so intimate about the handmade, right? The way he's rendered the reddish-brown wood grain effect, with green and gold outlines, feels so deliberate and considered. It's not about perfection, but about the pleasure of making. What was on Henning’s mind as he painted this? What inspired this pattern? I see echoes of folk art traditions, of decorative painting passed down through generations, a visual conversation between past and present. These kinds of humble, everyday objects have always been a source of inspiration for me and other painters. Each generation builds on what came before, adding their own twist, their own voice to the ongoing dialogue. It's beautiful, right?